This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from an application for A WALL MOUNT TYPE MICRO WAVE OVEN AND ITS CONTROL METHOD earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Mar. 12, 2001 and there duly assigned Ser. No. 12688/2001 by that Office.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to microwave ovens, and more particularly to a wall-mounted microwave oven and a method for controlling the same, wherein the microwave oven and a hood unit are prevented from being operated at maximum power at the same time in the initial operation state.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Microwave ovens are generally adapted to perform a cooking operation based on a super-high frequency, in a different manner from cooking equipment of an external heating type based on thermal conduction and thermal radiation. Such a conventional microwave oven comprises a super-high frequency oscillation tube, or a magnetron, for generating a super-high frequency of 2,470 MHz in response to high-voltage power applied thereto. The super-high frequency of 2,470 MHz generated from the magnetron causes an electric field to turn in direction at a rate of 2.45 billion times per second. Where this super-high frequency is applied to food, molecules of water in the food vibrate at a rate of 2.45 billion times per second while generating a large amount of heat, thereby cooking the food.
FIGS. 1a and 1b are graphs illustrating the operation of a conventional wall-mounted microwave oven.
As shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the conventional wall-mounted microwave oven is operated simultaneously with a hood motor upon cooking food. For this reason, even in the initial operation state requiring a large amount of power consumption, the microwave oven and the hood motor are together operated, resulting in an increase in power consumption.
Thus, there has been a need for a technique capable of controlling the operation of a microwave oven according to the operation of a hood motor in the initial operation state. However, a conventional wall-mounted microwave oven cannot control its power output level according to the operation of a hood motor, so it cannot effectively solve a power consumption increase or overload.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wall-mounted microwave oven and a method for controlling the same, wherein the microwave oven and a hood unit are prevented from being operated at maximum power at the same time for a predetermined period of time in the initial operation state.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a wall-mounted microwave oven comprising a hood unit including a hood motor; a magnetron; a transformer having primary and secondary coils, the transformer generating a high voltage in a turn ratio of the primary and secondary coils and supplying the generated high voltage to the magnetron; a hood unit driver for controlling an operation of the hood unit; power output switching means for controlling the level of a voltage to be supplied to the transformer; and a controller for controlling the hood unit driver and power output switching means to prevent the hood unit and magnetron from being operated at maximum power at the same time in an initial operation state.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a wall-mounted microwave oven, the microwave oven having a hood unit including a hood motor, the method comprising the steps of a) controlling the hood motor and microwave oven to prevent them from being operated at maximum power at the same time for a certain period of time in an initial operation state; and b) normally operating the hood motor and microwave oven at the maximum power after the lapse of the certain time period.